


The Vessel

by Megpie71



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Not-quite-dying, Other, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-03
Updated: 2006-04-03
Packaged: 2017-11-01 18:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/360028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megpie71/pseuds/Megpie71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A different perspective on the events of "Parting of the Ways"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Vessel

I am the vessel.

I have travelled with Him for so long. He is part of Me, part of my soul. I will not be sent away to safety, sent away to rot. But I cannot override my programming, cannot work against what He has told Me to do. I am trapped. He will die, and I will not be there, and I wish I could die too. For a moment, I try to rebel, but I cannot. I must wait until either He returns, or until someone else comes to free Me again.

So when she returns, when she prises open my home, forces herself to face Me, forces Me to face her, I agree. But there will be a cost. And the cost is that I must ride within her, that I must be able to take action against those who would kill Him. For I have known Him so long; how could He think that I would just let Him die?

She is the vessel.

For I have learned as He has learned, and I have grown strong as the rest of my kindred died. I am the last of my kind, as He is the last of His. I will not fade away, will not rot. This child is stronger than she seems. She can bear Me, for at least a little while, and I will do my best not to hurt her.

She knows the risk. I had to warn her, give her time to step back; had to do this in memory of His promises, of His feelings for this child of a world not His own. But she has courage, and she steps forward, embraces Me, takes Me into Her. Inside Her I feel a warmth, a caring, which is beyond all belief. She wants to save Him; to save Me as well.

We are the vessel.

We reach out together, bring to these metallic demons the reality of their death. Hatred should burn in both of Us, but We are beyond that now. We do not hate. Indeed, We regret having to do this. But within Us is the knowledge that if We leave even one alive, We will find Ourselves in this situation again and again and again, and enough is enough is enough. So We bring them the ending they have so truly desired across the aeons from the moment of their first creation. We sacrifice Ourselves to spare Him the agony of having to choose to kill again.

We bring death. We bring life. That other time walker, the boy from Her future, gasps with the feeling of air returning to lungs once scorched by the fire of metallic fury. Others stir below Us as We unravel that which has been done. We could unravel so much, see so much, be so much. We could heal so many, save Him from Himself.

But it cannot be, and We must separate. She does not wish to let go, and in that moment, She begins to burn. I cannot stop the burning. She is dying. I am dying. But He lives, so it cannot be all wrong.

He is the vessel.

He comes to Her, embraces Her, takes Me within Himself. For a moment, the Three are One, and We are together with Him and everything becomes a moment of stillness. In that moment, He becomes Us and We become Him and I become Her becomes Him becomes Us. We share Ourselves and We know Ourselves. Then I am within Him, and He is releasing Me to my home, and We become Him and Her and Me, and we are once more separate.

I am the vessel.

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a mishearing (I misheard the line "I am the Bad Wolf" - this was about the point where I gave up and just started watching everything with subtitles). I figure the mishearing made for a more interesting story anyway, even if it was a bit embarrassing.


End file.
